Thursday, 28 April 2011

"Singapore is boring, we all know that, but what are the definitive 10 things that will deliver you to snoresville?" so starts an article by Elaine Ee, CNN GO.

Why do we have to put up with such 'Negative Nellies"? Sure, some of the local's pastimes might seem somewhat passive to outsiders, but the energy-sapping climate has a lot to do with one's energy levels and a preference for indoor pursuits.

Ms Ee's list in count-down order includes the following:

10. Go to the cinema
9. Take a drive
8. Have dinner at the airport
7. Listening up at Speakers’ Corner
6. Day camping in East Coast Park
5. Read the newspaper
4. Watch local television
3. Go for a walk in a shopping center
2. Have a ride on the Singapore Flyer
1. Indulge in a spot of gambler watching

I concede that local Singapore television is a bit of yawn with its numerous Hawker food shows but is the television in other countries much better?

Replace Hawker food shows with Masterchef in Australia or New Zealand and the fare looks pretty much the same; just another helping of cheap reality show programming.

And I should add, traditional hawker food is delicious and I quite happily spent time debating the relative merits of chicken rice stalls with friends and colleagues.

The Singapore Flyer never attracted me except when I watched stranded passengers abseiling down its guy ropes. The main problem for the Flyer is that the recently constructed and nearby Marina Bay Sands Roof Garden is actually higher than their Big Wheel and offers better views (see Image below).

As to Speaker's Corner, this small piece of real estate has largely become obsolete as most opinion is shared through social media and on blogs such as this one.

To be fair to CNNGo they did feature another article on Singapore in 2009 entitled, "50 Reasons Why Singapore Is #1". By my calculation that is 40 more positive reasons than negative if both articles are taken into account.